The Memoryman ft. Kashin Shetty
- Vivek Madan
- Nov 5
- 15 min read
"I never expected Akvarious to do a play like Baghdad Wedding in my life! Or There's Something in the Water. But they did. They pushed the boundaries." Kashin Shetty, one of the oldest original Akvariants, and the keeper of memories and menus, holds forth on his beginnings, his approach to acting and his love for all things theatre.
We usually start these ‘interviews’ at the beginning. Or we start at the end. With you I want to start nowhere in particular and go with it. What memory of making a play has stayed with you?
It was the school play that Amey and Shivani and I did - Phantom of the Opera. I have no idea how the school approved this play. Because it is quite traumatic - kidnappings and an anti-hero with a grotesque face and everything. But they did.
Funny thing is that I didn't know what the plot was. I downloaded the Royal Opera House 25th anniversary show and I also thought “We're doing this? What the f**k? How?”
But then slowly we got good singers, we created everything else around them. The mirror through which she gets pulled in, the chandelier that crashes, though it didn’t actually crash, and everything.
The reason I remember it is because it was by far The Most Positive Environment I have ever worked in. Those kids were fantastic!
Anything in particular that you recall about the rehearsal process?
Oh so many things. There was one show! While the dance sequence was happening and the leading lady is swirling away in this wonderful gown… A McDonald's brown paper bag attached itself to her dress! And Shivani and I are backstage, we're like “Oh shit Oh shit what do we do, what do we do.”
And suddenly from the wing this hand comes out, plucks the bag off her dress!
It was one of the students who was working backstage. She was one of the younger ones, probably 8th grade at the time, and she was considered one of the ‘less productive’ ones. But clearly, she had been watching rehearsal (and obviously the show) really closely. And she knew the play so well that she knew which point in the song would bring the actor closest to the wings, and she knew which wing to stand at. That was a crowning achievement for us! What people are capable of is incredible.
So, let me ask you this… You did theatre for about 15 years, learning on the job. And then you started teaching. So, do you value the classroom? Can you really teach acting?
I don’t know about whether teaching is good for learning. But teaching has certainly helped me being a better actor. And I think the vice versa is also true.
Okay let me go in chronological order. It’s a long-ish story. I did acting classes in 2001 in Bhavan's College, South Bombay. They had a 10-month acting course run by Girish Desai who was like the Alyque Padamsee of the Gujarati Theatre industry.
I joined In January. And for the first two weeks he didn’t come. He just didn’t come. Then we realised he was in hospital. And then he died. I don’t mean this in a funny way. He passed away.
So, his protégés who were Gujarati Superstars by then, and who had done the same programme 15 years ago said “These guys have already paid, it’s a 10-month course and Girish sir is no more!”
So, they started teaching us. Using their notes from 15 years ago. And even though they did their best to keep it streamlined, it was just bits and pieces of what Girish Sir had taught them. And unintentionally, that became my foundation. I would just pick up bits and pieces at rehearsal. I would see what works for me, and discard the rest.
So as an actor, I didn’t really have a process. Until I started teaching, way later in 2016. I realised that bits and pieces was basically all I had. That’s when the deep diving into acting methods happened.
My second realisation was that I am not a good learner by book. I am a visual learner. I enjoy watching videos. I enjoy watching performances and talking to the actors afterwards. That’s how I learn best.
And that’s how I hit upon my method of teaching kids. If books work for you, if that's how you process your data, go for it! But if watching ‘content’ works for you and you can do it without getting distracted by the rest of the internet, do that! When you watch a movie and you see an actor made a poor choice, ask yourself why they might have made that choice. And really try and understand it. For that you need to know the story, the character, the intention. It's not about ‘I could have done it better’. It’s also about being humble and realising that everyone makes poor choices, in life, on stage. Understanding why, and how to self-cleanse, self-correct is the best way.
Or you learn from people, actual human beings whom you interact with. This week I got an interview from Zafar [Karachiwala] and Sid Kumar for the kids to watch. They both played the same character in The Verdict so I picked one of the monologues and asked them both to record their versions for the kids to study.
And they're like 12 or 13 years old so if they can learn these things at such a young age - things I never had access to - God knows where they'll reach. You know, some of them are so talented; I want to hone their skills as much as I can.
Let's change track a little. Can you tell me a little bit about LeChayim?
So, LeChayim was, no is, a theatre company. It was five of us. Me, Siddharth Kumar, Divyang Thakkar, Divyesh Vijaykar and Himanshu Sitlani. Himanshu found the script of The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh. I read it and I died laughing. Even though it's really dark humour. I couldn’t stop reading it. And when I finished, it was the middle of the night, but I called Himanshu, woke him and said, “We need to do this!!!”
Around the same time we had watched Fiddler on the Roof and the song To Life To Life LeChayim stuck with us, we were singing it all the time. And we called ourselves LeChayim Theatre Productions.
Pillowman was the first production. It was a turning point for many of us. We did more than 25 shows from 2006 to 2015.
I think what attracted us to it, what kept us going, was really that we were young people doing something so bold. We're saying so many bad words, we're showing death, we're showing kids getting murdered… I guess it was some morbid fascination. And I know that’s normal because my students today would also find it hilarious.
And then we did other stuff - Sid Kumar did Damages, then we did In the Cat House…
The company as such didn't have a very long life because then everyone got busy in separate lives. But we still have the LeChayim WhatsApp group. We’re still in touch. I guess I found my first true friends in LeChayim.
And there is always the hope that at some point, one of us will find a script and we will do it under the LeChayim banner. So, it’s not over. It’s dormant, like Vesuvius.
Can we get a little abstract now for a couple of questions? Can you name a few qualities that you think are important for an actor to embody?
First thing is, I think you have to be a nice human being. You can't just make the whole scene or the play about yourself. You have to take into consideration that there are other people bringing themselves into the scene.
Everybody has problems. And sometimes it's difficult to leave them at the door when you walk into a rehearsal. So be mindful of each other's problems.
I cannot stand co-actors who just make it about themselves and their craft. I've had times when, at the end of a show, I'm weeping. And they catch me with my wet face and tell me why I didn't do a good job in the first place. And not because they want to make me a better actor but because I didn't help them in a particular scene.
Secondly, and this is something I began unravelling with my own mental health problems. It's very important to centre yourself before you walk into a rehearsal or a show. And you have to find your method of centering yourself. In my case, it's music.
Because sometimes you have negative thoughts, and you have no control over them. If it comes at the last minute before you enter stage or enter a rehearsal, it ruins everything. It spreads like a virus. You need to clear that out. Some people find coffee or meditation, whatever. You need to find what works for you and centre yourself before you walk into any rehearsal space.
And lastly, stay true to the craft. You have to stay true to the craft.
What does that mean? Unpack that a little?
Like… Akvarious is a group filled with friends. We all love each other. There's a lot of joking around that happens, which sometimes takes away from rehearsal time. And without the director telling you, if you yourself realise, okay, let's get back to work. I respect that.
Because you're there for work. If it's all jokes and time pass, then don't do theatre. Find a café or a bar and just sit, drink, chit chat, gossip, bitch, do whatever you want. But at a rehearsal space, try to find that balance. And that no one should have to tell you. It's great to create a community, but know when to focus on what's really important.
Who are among your favourite co-actors that you enjoy spending time in rehearsal and on stage with?
Three of them. I love them. Siddharth Kumar, Shikha Talsania and Lisha Bajaj.
Because when they focus, they're the best co-actors to work with. When they're on stage with me, I have full faith that if I f**k up my line, they'll carry the show or the scene forward. There's nothing worse than being on stage and your co-actors are like, “Oh, what the f**k was that?” You can see the deer-in-headlights look.
There are many others, but another reason I love these three is off stage, whether it's phone conversations or when I'm in trouble and if I need help, they've been there for me. And they've never reminded me that they did this for me, so I owe them… It's just who they are.
That's being part of a community. That's not just being friends. It's being part of the same universe together.
And of course, it’s also selfish. Because I love watching them on stage as well as working with them, I know that an audience will 100% notice a Sid, a Shikha or a Lisha.
So, if I’m opposite them, I’ll be noticed too.
You’ve mentioned mental health struggles a couple of times. Are we okay to talk about it?
Mental health and arts, the intersectionality of it, seems to be front and centre for both mental health organisations, arts organisations as well as funding bodies around the world who say that this is a good way to approach mental health issues is through art.
Now you have been doing art for the last 20 years. What has the effect or impact of art been on your mental health and vice versa?
It's a double-edged sword, actually. And I'm not trying to say this for sympathy.
I know I'm not a very good actor. So, there's constantly this drive to try and be at least as good as my co-actors. And that my director should not think I'm s**t or throw me out of the play.
For example, if a certain actor was unavailable for a show, we wouldn't do the show. But whenever I was sick or unavailable, somebody else would step in. In the beginning I would wonder - am I that unimportant?
And once I finally pinpointed the issue, once I was diagnosed with anxiety and anxiety disorder, these things just exploded. That's why 2016-2017 were the worst two years of my life. I think that those are the weakest years of me as a performer, there was so much self-doubt.
There was this one play I won't name. But I had these long stretches where I'm sitting on stage, watching my co-actors speak. And they were so good. But my brain kept on feeding me negative information - you will never be as good as them, you're f**ked up, you should leave.
And through therapy and counselling, it took a while for me to understand how to control those negative voices, I stopped being that hard on myself. But it took a while.
And on the other hand, theatre and arts really has the capacity to heal. If done well, if done responsibly. I’ve seen a few plays on mental health… Some of them look like street plays. Some of them are just so superficial. And they only tell their story, not their side of the story. “I'm struggling and I tell my story.” They don't seem to care about the actual issue, they don’t research… It's about themselves. “Oh man, my mom never understood my problems. And that's how I became a drug addict.” It can’t stop there!
It has to be about how your story is helping the community.
I'm humbled to be a part of a play like What Planet Are You On. Like one kid, I'll never forget. He held Sid's hand and he began weeping backstage after watching the show because that show made him realise that he also has ADHD. He just never knew it, but the play told him what his symptoms are. And that's where his journey began with his parents to get mental health treatment and everything.
That's what an actor or a writer or a director or a player or a community should strive for. If it's just about yourself, it stays on stage. It affects no one.
Tell me, if you felt all these things so acutely for those two years, why did you come back? What made you want to come back to rehearsal and to plays?
My community helped me feel safe. The few people who knew about my condition in the early days - when I was openly getting panic attacks - were always there for me. They would always ask me, are you okay for rehearsals today? And at rehearsals, they would do a quick check in while passing by. That made me feel like I'm not in a room filled with people who are judging me.
And funnily enough, the pandemic really helped because it helped me be self-reliant. If I survived the pandemic and didn't die of COVID, then I can take care of myself. As horrific as it was the pandemic became this full circle for my mental health, this huge boost that I don't need other people's help all the time.
Also, and this is the second edge of that double-edged sword. The only time I would never get panic attacks is when I was on stage.
That one play I mentioned earlier was an anomaly because I had long chunks of no dialogue. But otherwise, I would start having panic attacks only once the play was over. I think my brain was so focused on simple things like cues and lines and emotions, there was no space for negativity to seep in. So actually, along with my community, the stage became my comfort zone. Because I was myself when I was on stage. I was safe. I was free.
So, if not theatre, do you ever think of the road not taken? If not theatre, what would you do? Hypothetically.
My family has a restaurant in Dadar East. I sat at the counter a few times in my childhood. It wasn't a comfort zone. But I was good at it. It was familiar. Because that's what my grandfather did. And my uncles did.
And sometimes with college friends, I would make these plans. “We three will open a restaurant. You handle the Mughlai food. You handle the junk food. I will handle South Indian food. That's my thing.”
The backup plan would have been that, if drama had never happened. I would have worked at the family restaurant for a while. But the dream would have been to make my own place.
Is that also the birth of your relationship with food? Because you have a tremendous relationship with food.
I am a big foodie. My grandmother made me respect food from an early age. She would say, “Somebody has harvested this rice with their sweat, blood and tears and it's come to your plate. You will eat every single grain. Every.” She was very strict about that.
And food helps me bond with people. Sometimes one of my students will say they like South Indian food, then that's where the journey begins with that child. It’s a great conversation starter, a great barrier-breaker for me with kids and with theatre people as well.
What's your favourite food memory, food theatre memory or theatre food memory?
Anytime we've been to Bangalore. Bangalore just has so much variety. Like Coconut Grove. In my history of being to Coconut grove, I have never had a bad meal, ever. And I've been there with multiple theatre groups, even on my own.
I've never had a bad meal. It has always delivered. The waiters are always wonderful.
Also, I wish I had a video of this. It's one of those places where the food comes and conversation ends. That table gets quiet.
My hands were full of food. Or I would have taken a video.
Yes, you are the de facto documenter of nearly every theatre project that you have been a part of, right? I think in all the blog articles that we have in this series, there is at least one picture from you in all of them. I mean, what is that?
It started with the very first phone I bought with my own money, the Sony Ericsson W810i. Oh f**k, what a beautiful phone.
Firstly, it was a Walkman phone, so the music was great. But the camera, was 2.5 megapixel! It was 2008, it’s nothing now, but it took such good photos!
We had just started travelling with Akvarious and the photos looked so wonderful.
The trek we made in Mussoorie to meet Ruskin Bond, I took such good photos because the light was perfect. We were looking so rosy-cheeked, walking up there. The photos looked wonderful! It started with that, me just appreciating the tech.
Then it became me getting more familiar with these people. I think I really love the people of Akvarious. I want to capture all their happy moments so that one day when I'm old, one day when I'm gone, they'll have something to look back on.
Photos become conversation starters. I'll put a photo of Cheetah and Sid Kumar at Coconut Grove, with their heads together. And that starts a conversation about how those two had such a massive food coma that day.
And now it's evolved. It’s reached a point where I'm on Instagram all the time and I'm a teacher now for kids. I want them to understand that beyond their f**king TikTok and other nonsense, there's theatre that's telling good stories. And these are the people who are part of that community that I'm with. We are telling f**king fantastic stories. Come to Prithvi, watch a play.
In my small way, me constantly taking photos, putting stuff on Instagram is to make people aware.
And can I just say, at the Akvarious Microfests, they put up hard copies of all these photos from the past 25 years. And one installation was just my photos. It was only me. I'm like, oh f**k, this is all me. It was beautiful seeing my photos. I honestly didn't even realise that I had taken these many
photos. But it was beautiful.
Okay. So last two questions. Akvarious has been on for 25 years. And you have been with them for 18. Has anything changed in their work?
Akvarious at their core, want to entertain people. Whether with their children’s plays or others, they used to lean towards getting the laughs.
And that’s changed. With plays like The Verdict, Some Time, even Tiki Taka. It’s not just about laughs. They’re finding topics like corruption, football, which relate to people. They have a trademark viewpoint, their sarcasm, their comic timing, their irreverence. But they balance it out now with the telling of human stories in specific, current scenarios.
Also, for a long time, we were working with the same bunch of faces. For a really long time.
But then with Go With the Flow or Smile Please or Sissy. Or Joy's [Fernandes] inclusion in Tiki Taka, we finally started accepting newer faces. We finally started allowing ourselves to take the risk of working with ‘outsiders’. And it’s only happened because Akarsh and Adhaar have made that effort.
The focus remains on entertainment, of course. But there is a drive to try and do different every single time.
It's very rare that I look at a new script from Akvarious and it sounds like a rehash of something we've done before. We're always trying to tell new stories, connect with modern audiences.
There are some plays where audiences just switch off, they check their phones, they fidget. I watched a play a few weeks ago and the number of cell phones that were checked was frustrating. It's so distracting!
But with Akvarious plays, these instances are much fewer. Because people are laughing. They're engaged. They've literally forgotten the world for an hour and they're with us.
And last question. What do you wish for Akvarious for the next 25 years?
I hope to be around. For their 50th anniversary. See more photos of myself up there.
But seriously, as I said just now it took a while for them to evolve and try new things. With new actors and new scripts.
I never expected Akvarious to do a play like Baghdad Wedding in my life! Or There's Something in the Water. But they did. They pushed the boundaries. They made different – sometime difficult choices.
And I think they're at the right stage now to start taking bigger risks. They can. They should.
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